e30 DD shocks - Bilstein HD or Yellow Konis?

I had Konis with K&R sports on my 325is, and it was a great dual purpose setup. Never tried Bilsteins, but I have always been pleased with any car I put Konis on.

z31maniac wrote: Is there anyone in this thread besides myself that has actually driven an E30 with both setups mentioned? In other words, springs/konis and HR Race/Billie sports? Just curious, since this application is what he is asking about, and everything else is really conjecture.

Yes. But it's still conjecture because how do I know what the op is looking for? Suspension feel is highly subjective to the owner. I was just saying why I'd stay away from the HDs. And also the Bilys are rebuild able. And if you haven't driven on the HDs, not sports, then you are just as guilty because they are very different.

In reply to J308:

Konis are rebuildable too.

J308 wrote:

z31maniac wrote: Is there anyone in this thread besides myself that has actually driven an E30 with both setups mentioned? In other words, springs/konis and HR Race/Billie sports? Just curious, since this application is what he is asking about, and everything else is really conjecture.

Yes. But it's still conjecture because how do I know what the op is looking for? Suspension feel is highly subjective to the owner. I was just saying why I'd stay away from the HDs. And also the Bilys are rebuild able. And if you haven't driven on the HDs, not sports, then you are just as guilty because they are very different.

The "conventional wisdom" is that the HD and Sports share the same valving, but different shock lengths to account for lowering springs.

At least in the E30 application.

So just to throw this out there:

They may share the same valving (on the e30, I know they drive differently on e46 and Charger), but I know from my Evo ownership that they are sensitive to spring choice taking them out of the effective stroke and causing them to blow (leak) prematurely. Taking into account that I personally have seen HDs "direct fit" that are .25" longer (e46, Charger, e36 but sigh not e30), and spring choice becomes important. Not sure why you would put new stock springs on a 25 year old car, but if you did, then you may only be ~.25 lower than you should be on HDs. If you run worn out sagging springs or god forbid lowering springs, then you could potentially cause accelerated wear on the HDs.

Do I have any factual evidence to back this up? No, so I guess it's just my .02 so take it for what it's worth.

I can, however, tell you that my Evo Bilsteins were rebuilt for $65 each and they can be valved for whatever you want.
http://www.bilsteinus.com/products/search-service/service.html Not sure what Koni charges.

I called Bilstein because the uncertainty was driving me up a tree, and sure enough, HDs and Sports may be the same or different damping based on application (and yes, where they're the same damping, they're different lengths, if I understood correctly).

I had to have confirmation, because that just seems... bizarre.

In any case, I had to leave my number and when I got the call back I was busy so I failed to confirm the E30 specifically < facepalm />.

Makes me think that custom valving should be moved up the priority list for significantly firmed-up cars. But now I'm way off the OP's question...

ransom wrote: HDs and Sports may be the same or different damping based on application (and yes, where they're the same damping, they're different lengths, if I understood correctly). I had to have confirmation, because that just seems... bizarre.

Bizarre but factual, lol. I've personally seen it. It's a shame too, because they seem to have HDs for everything and excellent pricing. When we were working on a Charger, we got so fed up with it that we decided to just buy some SRT take-off Bilsteins and have them rebuilt (freshened). Ultimately sold that Charger before doing anything with it, but every car I've ever personally researched for HDs has had the same result. Too high, didn't feel as good as the "factory" option Bilstein. Definitely strange.

E46 guys hate them after putting them on. Evo guys say stay away from HDs, get the MR Bilsteins and have them rebuilt. These are two communities that 1) Care about their suspensions, B) Aren't afraid to spend the money, and 3) Have a large enough sample installed base to be relatively trustworthy in the results.

The prevailing wisdom in the e28 BMW world (although I can't say if it's 100% true) is that HD and Sport Bilsteins for those cars have the same damping, they're just different lengths. However, either one works well on them, depending on if the car has stock length or lowered springs.